.@Navient Student loan powerhouse sued for deceptive practices

"In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused Navient of a long list of improprieties and deceptive practices in collecting and servicing some $300 billion in student loans.

Simultaneously, state attorneys general in Washington and Illinois also sued Navient, charging that the company had marketed pricey, high-risk subprime private student loans, mainly to students at for-profit colleges. The loans were “designed to fail,” and in fact many of the borrowers defaulted, the state lawsuits claim.

Ironically, many of the abuses alleged in the lawsuits occurred as Navient personnel were servicing federal student loans under terms of a contract with the US Department of Education.

In a statement, Navient denied wrongdoing and charged that its accusers were playing politics with a “midnight action filed on the eve of a new administration.”

The company said it has a “superior track record of helping student loan borrowers” and had fully complied with Department of Education regulations.

Republican lawmakers have criticized the financial protection bureau, saying that it overregulates business. Some have called on incoming President Donald Trump to fire its director, Richard Cordray, although it is not clear that would be legally permissible."